


Soldiers are Dreamers

by hoars, Wretched



Category: Pretty Little Liars
Genre: Alison the Beautiful Mortal, Alternate Universe - Greek Mythology, Aria the Goddess of Arts, Drabble, Emily the Goddess of Dreams, F/F, Hanna the Goddess of Love, Spencer the Goddess of War
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-22
Updated: 2014-09-22
Packaged: 2018-02-18 08:07:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,259
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2341190
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hoars/pseuds/hoars, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wretched/pseuds/Wretched
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Emily is the goddess of dreams and sleep and Alison is the mortal princess that doesn't do either.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Soldiers are Dreamers

"Soldiers are dreamers."  
Siegfried Sassoon

Emily has been entrusted with mortals' sleep since man first needed to rest. The first mortal closed his eyes and slept and the gods bled into his thoughts, driving him mad. Hera deemed Emily responsible the next night, to keep all mortal sleep safe if not peaceful. 

So she does. 

She creates barriers between ill humors and malicious beings and the human mind. The barriers appearing as stabilized wisps of dreams. Literal wisps, like stardust, twisted around her hand. 

Emily is diligent in her duty. 

She doesn't boast her work like Spencer does. To her mind, warfare isn't something to be so prideful of. She doesn't bribe the mortal lovers like Hanna does with her sly, mischievous eyes and love spells. She doesn't curse and gift the mortals with the muses because she can like Aria. 

No.

Emily prefers to keep working on her dreams. Crafting the good and the bad for each mortal so they may be stronger when they wake.

She stumbles upon Alison, accidentally.

The woman's hair is so like the Eros' gold apples with the same pouty moue. Her beauty is enough to rival Hera herself and she takes Emily's breath away. 

But the woman came to her attention because she does not sleep. 

Emily has no way of crafting dreams to make Alison smile or frown. She's beyond her reach. It hurts to see her mortal woman blocked from slumber and Emily's realm. 

"Why hasn't Zeus kidnapped her?" Emily asks. "Is that why she is trapped in the maze guarded by the beast?"

Hanna hums thoughtfully. For all her mischief and trouble, Hanna is sweet like honey. She doesn't blurt her knowledge of Emily's affections to the pantheon. She just smiles, secrets making her eyes glitter, and says, "I put her there."

And Emily becomes so furious. 

Alison is trapped by a monster and a maze and it's Hanna's fault? Didn't Hanna know the torment she put the mortal woman through? Emily's eyes flash and she's a breath away from snarling and creating imps to torment the goddess of love for a thousand years.

"You--!"

"Hush," Hanna says. "I did it for her protection. I hid her while considering a solution to a problem. Many mortal men, princes and farmers, demigods and the gods themselves seek her affections." Hanna frowns. "They were becoming brutes."

"So you punish them by forcing her to listen to them die?" Emily snarls.

Hanna rolls her eyes. "No. I put her away to try and find her a worthy match. It's not my fault men take it as a challenge." Hanna smiles, disregarding Emily's fury completely. 

"Good thing I did, or I may have never considered you. Would you like Alison's mortal heart?" Hanna wiggles her eyebrows. 

Emily doesn't think twice before saying, "Yes."

Only she would treat the mortal woman preciously. Obviously Hanna's idea of protection is faulty.

"Then you have to defeat the monster in the maze," Hanna says and then adds defensively, "It's a failsafe. Can't get around it."

Emily agrees because it can't be that bad. She's a goddess.

After her first attempt, she realizes it is that bad. 

"I can't give you any hints," Hanna hedges. 

"But I can," Aria chirps. "And no heroic tale is complete without a prayer to the goddess of war and strife."

Aria and Hanna pointedly look at Spencer. The goddess ignores them in favor of studying a map with soldiers on it, her gaze intent. Her battle with her sister was always fierce and threatening to ruin the mortal world with war.

Emily swallows hard and remembers, she is a goddess. If she unleashes sleep and dreams on any sentient being, they belonged to her. She is more powerful than she ever let on. She can do this.

"Spencer," Emily says, firm but questioning. 

"What?" Spencer doesn't look up and before Emily can ask the goddess her reasonable request, the warrior snarls and slams her palms on her map, "Fuck you, Paris of Troy! You think you can steal Helen of Sparta and insult me? I will ruin your city and the bards curse your name through history!"

She laughs, dark and mean, and stabs the map with her dagger and triumph flashes around her like a death cloak.

Emily refuses to eep on principle.

"What?" Spencer asks after a few moments, calm and demure once more. "You needed something?"

Her words are met with stunned silence and Emily fears she'll never reach Alison. Poor, sweet Alison.

"She needs to kill a maze monster. Give her an enchanted sword that will guarantee victory," Aria says.

Spencer gives Aria a look of disgust, "No. That's for the Middle Ages." She directs her dark gaze to Emily. "Why are you fighting a maze monster?"

"Love," Hanna smiles. "Of course. It inspires everyone." Mischief courses her face. "Even Paris of Troy and Helen of Sparta. "

Spencer narrows her eyes. "I should say no on principle, you interfering shade," she directs at Hanna but then smiles at Emily. "But since you're my friend, I'll lend you my armor."

"No weapon?" Aria complains.

"And my weapon," Spencer continues in irritation. 

Even armed with the goddess of war's personal armor and her chakram, Emily barely defeated the maze monster.

She dripped blood when she finally found her way to the center of the maze, to Alison, and this is not the impression she wanted to leave.

But to be seen by Alison for the first time--

Emily is nearly convinced she trapped herself in a dream.

The mortal woman appraises her, slowly under long blonde lashes, and speaks, voice like ambrosia. 

"A new form of madness is my punishment? Now I see my dream protector as real? How far I must have fallen," but for a woman convinced she has gone mad, she is calm and curious.

But her words freeze Emily because she knows for a fact this woman does not dream. None of the dreams she crafted ever reached Alison. How could Alison claim to have seen her?

"Still silent?" Alison asks, sadness in her smile. "Then would it be too much to ask for a kiss? Since you have apparated here."

Emily is a goddess that has shed blood and really, that monster gave her a fright. She can only resist so much.

She nods, less regal than she'd like to recount to Hanna, Aria and Spencer after she has brought her mortal home, and crosses the room to touch the woman.

Like milk, like petals, like apples, the woman's skin feels easy to ruin under her immortal hand. Emily savors the feel. So this is a mortal's touch. This is Alison's touch.

Gently, Emily brushes their mouths together. Soft lips, smooth and caressing against her own makes Emily press that little bit harder. Alison freely touches Emily as it pleases her. Little touches against her hair, the blood splattered armor, her skin. 

Alison, Emily decides, tastes like the finest wine and feels like the best dream Emily has ever crafted.

She gets so lost in the sensation, Emily loses track of her lover's hands and only comes back to herself with the cool metal of Spencer's chakram pressed against her throat.

"I don't care if you are my best and only dream," Alison says. 

"I will not die here. Show me the way out." Alison continues against her lips.

Emily breathes faster and blinks as her eyes dilate, because fuck, Alison is even lovelier than before. 

It figures Alison would be one of Spencer's disciples.

**Author's Note:**

> Cross-posted on tumblr by Wretched10.


End file.
